— find your next great read —

ENDED – Bug Bug’s First Giveaway!!!

Well, hello there, friends. One of my goals for the year was to have 300 Instagram followers, and, by golly, five months in to 2017, I’ve done it! I know 300 followers isn’t a ton to some people, but, for introverted-newbie-blogger-&-Instagrammer-me, it feels significant. So I’m happy in this moment, and I’d like to pass the love along.

I’ve never hosted a giveaway before, but let’s give it a go. The prize is a $25 Amazon gift card. All you have to do to enter is LIKE AND COMMENT ON THIS POST in the next week — so from 10am CST on Wednesday, May 3 to 10am CST on Wednesday, May 10. That’s it. If you feel like being extra lovely (and since you know I do giveaways when I reach milestones…), you could also follow me on:

Hi! I was going through your recent posts (I have been out of my blog for some time) and I read about the Giveaway, thinking “well, what a pity I can’t do it”. But then… I read it is International! So I am in too! Considering I am one of the first amazon.com clients, maybe it would work with me too 😊 Anyway, I am glad you have reached your goal and I wish you other 300 followers and even more. All the best from Italy (near Venice) 😘
PS I am only on Twitter unfortunately, but I am going to follow you in 1 min

Congratulations, Captain! You are the winner of the $25 Amazon gift card!!! Can you send me your email address, and I’ll email it to you? You can send it to tralalaladybug@gmail.com. Congrats, again! 🙂

Congrats on getting over 300 followers on Instagram! Don’t downplay your achievement! If this was one of your goals, then be happy you reached a milestone. You have an amazing goal, so I’m not surprised that people wanted to keep more up to date with you. Sending you positive vibes, and hoping that you get many more followers to come xxx

You’re right, Melina. I shouldn’t downplay it! I get nervous that what feels like a big deal to me won’t seem so big to other people. Some of those Instagram accounts with like 5, 10, 20 thousand followers sometimes seem a lot more “legit” than my account, you know? Oh well, shouldn’t compare. I’m genuinely proud of myself for reaching this goal. That should be all that matters. 🙂

Oops, I also forgot to say that I’ve been blogging for about 1.5 years. But starting in January of 2017, I’ve been a lot more focused on and dedicated to my blog, really putting effort into posting consistently and reaching more people. 🙂

Interesting. I didn’t know that (or haven’t paid enough attention to notice), but that makes sense. Blogging is so time-consuming, and it can be hard to keep writing, especially if you don’t get much feedback… Out of curiosity, how long have you been blogging?

This is my 4th year of blogging at Grab the Lapels. I used to write reviews for other websites that don’t update daily, like a blog, but maybe monthly, more like a magazine. I didn’t run those websites, though.

As if! Of course you are entered into the drawing. You’re basically the first person I interacted with as a blogger. You made me less afraid of the scary “internets,” ha. I should probably just end the giveaway and give YOU the gift card. 🙂

Then you’re in the right place, ha! I looked at your blog and saw your first post. I know EXACTLY what you’re going through with the allergy stuff. It really IS scary. I’ll tell you, though, that it gets a little bit easier as you get used to living life knowing your kids have allergies. I still worry about my two boys all the time, but I do feel more in control. Have you looked at the FARE website? That’s a good place to start. There’s also a website/phone app called Spokin. It’s pretty good, too. I’ll be interested to read your future posts. Anyway, thanks for commenting! 🙂

Welcome to Bug Bug!

I’m Lorilin, a stay-at-home mom in Chicago who reads books to stay sane. Even though I spend most of my day looking after my lovely and wild children, I always make time to read—mostly fiction, wellness, cookbooks, and lots of books on gardening.

I rate all books on a scale of one to five ladybugs, so my favorites will have these little cuties floating by the title 🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞.